Neighborly mining negotiations sour

Environmental groups and a Montana mining
company failed to see eye to eye over a "good neighbor" agreement
after eight months of talking, and negotiations have
stopped.

Stillwater Mining Co. and three
citizens' groups agreed that the platinum and palladium mine,
located on public and private lands in the Beartooth Mountains,
would be around a long time, and it was in everyone's interest to
stay out of court. Stillwater Mining spokesman Chris Allen says
that the deposit, one of the largest in the world, is so big that
the company foresees 30 to 50 years of
production.

Environmentalists say that two
demands by the mining company killed the deal in January: Mine
officials insisted that the agreement would end if
environmentalists challenged the company in court; they also
demanded that environmental data be kept secret. Environmentalists
said the new conditions were unacceptable and walked out of the
meeting.

Stillwater representative Allen says the
request for secrecy stems from Security and Exchange Commission
regulations, which prevent the company from passing out information
before it's made public.

But without the data,
critics say, there is no way to fulfill the agreement. "It would be
impossible," says Arleen Boyd of the Stillwater Protective
Association, adding that the negotiated agreement had been based on
openness between the mining company and the
community.

Environmentalists also say that a ban
on lawsuits would compromise their leverage. "The agreement was a
way to shine a light on the operation and encourage them to do the
right thing," says Boyd.

Both sides are reviewing
the contract and are optimistic they can return to the table. "A
tremendous amount of time and psyche has been invested," says
Allen. Boyd agrees. "There's too much good stuff in the agreement
to throw it all away," he says.